Fake Tamiflu pills seized in South S.F.

Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Prevention (CBP) recently seized 51 shipments of counterfeit Tamiflu pills at the air mail facility in South San Francisco, the CBP reported Friday.

This seizure was the first time counterfeit Tamiflu had been intercepted in the U.S., according to the CBP. Each of the 51 packages seized contained 10 to 50 individual Tamiflu pills.

Tamiflu is a drug that may prove useful in combating avian flu in humans.

The counterfeit Tamiflu had been purchased over the Internet and shipped from Asia, according to CBP. It seems as though the pills were purchased for personal use, the CBP reported.

"Our CBP officers are diligently working around the clock to keep our nation's citizens and residents safe from harmful products crossing our borders. Could you imagine what could happen if counterfeit avian flu medicine is being sent around the world and people are depending on it to keep themselves healthy? This seizure is an excellent find for the nation as a whole," said Nat Aycox, San Francisco director of field operations for CBP.

The CBP is the agency charged with securing and controlling U.S. borders. CBP and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating the incident.